DC COMICS FOR SEPTEMBER

AVI ARAD TALKS MARVEL MOVIES

Marvel Studios' Avi Arad said casting announcements for the Fantastic Four movie should be made soon.

"I'm not telling you," Arad said with a laugh when asked about the film's cast at last weekend's Spider-Man 2 junket. "You'll read about it next week. I can't get into it."

Fantastic Four is scheduled to begin production in August under the direction of Tim Story.

When asked if FF will be a comedy, Arad said, "More like an action comedy."

Arad talked about several other films, too. Following is a rundown:

* Man-Thing: "It's going to testing in two weeks," Arad said.

* Ghost Rider: "We are right here at Sony in early pre-production on the movie," Arad said, noting a "great" script from writer/director Mark Steven Johnson.

* Spider-Man 3: Arad said work begins on the film next month. "Not prepping, but sort of," Arad said. "The train is leaving."

Arad said the comic-book movie craze has not hit its peek -- "It's just beginning," he said -- but Marvel won't overload theaters.

"We are not flooding the market yet, not by a longshot, and we'll make sure we don't," Arad said. "This (Spider-Man 2) was a better movie than the first one. X2 was better than X1. Blade 3 is better than the first two. It's about quality control, more than floods."

SPIDER-MAN 2 UPDATE

Rosemary Harris, who returns as Aunt May in Spider-Man 2, actually did stunt work for the film.

MOONSTONE'S PAT NOVAK

"It's about an elderly PI who USED to be the toughest dude in town, and he still believes the hype! He talks that hard-boiled talk, but most folks have no idea what he's talking about! But there IS a crime that needs to be solved...

"The grittiest investigator of all time is back in noir action to undue his greatest case - and destroy his own reputation! Learning that was used to destroy a man, the former San Francisco legend called Pat Novak comes out of his retirement to chase down the truth. He'll go anywhere: from dangerous back alleys, deadly mobster hangouts, even castles of the ultra powerful and boudoirs of the ultra rich. No stone will be left unturned

"It's one two-fisted enacious old man (and his sexy grand daughter) against the world - and don't bet on the world."

The book is slated for an early 2005 release.

BRIEFLY

Upcoming episodes of Mutant X in syndication include "Age of Innocence" the week of June 28, "She's Come Undone" the week of July 5, "In Between" the week of July 12 and "The Breed" the week of July 19.

Coming Tuesday: Spider-Man movie news -- and much more!!!

COMICS CONTINUUM BACK ISSUES

In case you missed The Continuum's recent coverage, here are some links: